Optimize Your Owned Media Channels for Podcast Growth 

You’ve launched your podcast. The content is solid, the production is right. Now what? Too often, creators look outward for growth and ignore owned media. They throw money at paid ads, chase elusive press hits, or wait for a podcast app like Apple Podcasts to favor them with a homepage feature. 

Some of the most effective (and often overlooked) marketing tools are already at your fingertips: your existing media channels. 

At SXSW 2025, The Podglomerate’s founder/CEO Jeff Umbro joined me (Joni Deutsch, SVP of Marketing and Audience Development) to break down exactly how to leverage the social, digital and IRL channels you already own to drive real podcast growth.

Most importantly, we explained how to do it all without spending a cent. 

In this article, we’ll explain how to identify and optimize your owned media channels. We’ve already covered free and organic marketing techniques in other posts, so make sure to read them if you are working on a complete strategy. Here, we will be going deeper into the mechanics of owned media to help you locate a podcast audience already at your fingertips. 

If you need some help to grow your audience, reach out to The Podglomerate for a free consultation. 

First, Define Success (Hint: It’s Not Just Downloads) 

Before you dive into promotion, pause and ask: What does success look like for this podcast? We meet many budding podcasters who don’t have a clear goal for their show. While creating space for an organic creative process is important, a podcast requires a lot of resources; without goals, it is hard to track ROI and measure success.

Here are three ways to measure success for your podcast:

1. Content Impact 

Having “impactful” content can be measured through metrics like influence and reach. You may see minds being changed, or even find your show sparking new conversations across different platforms. Ultimately, great content is about telling deeper stories that resonate with your audience, no matter the size.

2. Audience Growth 

Despite the name, audience growth is not about reaching as many people as possible, no matter the cost. Instead, audience growth can be measured by how you target a niche demographic and build community. Of course, increasing listenership is an essential metric in audience growth, but you can define your own targets.

3. Revenue Generation 

Otherwise known as podcast monetization, revenue generation includes ad sales, subscriber memberships, and donor support via platforms like Patreon. If you’re a B2B podcast, this can also include lead generation for your business offering.

Each goal calls for a different strategy and set of metrics. Tracking these from day one will help you know what’s working. And more importantly, what’s not. 

What Is “Owned Media,” Anyway? 

Harvard Business Review defines owned media as anything you or your organization controls directly. To summarize a nearly endless category, some of the most popular owned media channels include: 

• Your website and mobile app 
• Email newsletters
• Social media accounts (including YouTube)
• Other podcasts you produce
• Live events, print materials, and even internal tools like Slack
• Your personal and professional networks

Making the most of your “owned media” as part of your podcast strategy means using these channels to promote your show, grow your audience, and generate revenue.

Here’s an  example: our award-winning podcast, Podcast Perspectives, reaches new listeners via our newsletter and YouTube channel. We also promote it via LinkedIn.

In this article, we’ll explore how to put these channels to work for your show. From newsletters to apps, and every social channel in between, we’ll cover how to promote your podcast and achieve the best growth for your targets.

Example: Our YouTube channel for Podcast Perspectives

Your Website? It’s Your Podcast’s Digital Home 

If your website doesn’t showcase your podcast, you’re missing a major opportunity. All of the current traffic your website generates could be funneled to your show with the right messaging, just make sure to target the following techniques on relevant pages. There’s no point targeting a podcast about food on a page about product evaluations, but it will flourish on a restaurant review blog. You get the idea.

Step 1: Create a dedicated podcast landing page. Make sure to include listening links to all the major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Step 2: Embed audio players into your pages. You can also write blog posts on the topics covered in your episodes, ensuring you capture organic traffic from relevant SEO keywords.

Step 3: Promote your show with pop-ups, banner ads, or even a starter playlist.

Step 4: Use SmartLinks or other attribution tools to track engagement on your show, beyond normal traffic metrics you’d find on Wordpress or Google Analytics.

Your App, a.k.a. Push-Button Promotion 

If your brand has a mobile app, think of it as prime real estate for engagement. This owned media technique is especially useful for businesses with branded podcasts. Here’s how to access its potential:

Step 1: Feature your podcast on the home screen or via launch banners at the top of the app.

Step 2: Send push notifications to your users when new episodes launch.

Step 3: Embed your podcast feed within the in-app experience.

Step 4: Coordinate with app teams (especially ones in media networks) to schedule promos alongside launches.

Step 5: If your brand is dropping a new product or collab, make an episode with someone involved in the process.

Email Newsletters Are Still the Best Owned Media Channel 

Email is gold—especially when it’s going to people who already care about your content. Newsletters are hard to grow and notoriously expensive to advertise on, so make the most of your own subscribers for maximum exposure and audience growth. It’s highly likely that your newsletter audience will align with the show you are making.

Social Media Must Go Beyond the Link Drop 

Don’t just post links on your social media. Sure, share the episode link. It won’t hurt. But you can do a lot more across your different social channels like Instagram and LinkedIn. Here are some ideas:

Step 1: Update your social bios and banners to showcase the name of your podcast.

Step 2: Create quotable graphics, reels, and even audiograms to highlight clips from your episodes. You don’t need a video podcast to do this!

Step 3: Use episode content to fuel live events like Instagram Lives or LinkedIn Q&As. This will also work for webinars, a useful tool for brands.

In-Network Podcasts: The Cross-Promo Powerhouse 

If you’re part of a podcast network–or even just friends with other podcasters, you have built-in allies. Podcasting is a warm and welcoming industry full of people who want to support your show. We often correspond on LinkedIn or at in-person podcast conferences across the world. Here are tips to activate your network for podcast growth: 

Step 1: Approach your network of fellow podcasts to coordinate ad swaps and feed drops. Make sure that the shows you are cross-marketing with have similar audience demographics to reach the maximum potential for both of your shows.

Step 2: Guest appearances are a great way to reach new people. Speak to your current network to find out if anyone is a good fit to record a guest interview on your show. You can also pitch yourself as a guest on other podcasts.

Print, Broadcast and IRL Events: Don’t Sleep on Traditional Media 

Even in our digital age, physical and broadcast spaces have clout. As we mentioned earlier, podcast conferences are a fantastic way to network with fellow enthusiasts, but don’t limit yourself to the podcast industry. If you are a brand, reach out to other media outlets in your niche who may be holding industry events. Here are some other ways to grow your audience via the media and beyond:

Step 1: Air short promos on your local radio or TV station, especially if your podcast has relevancy to your community.

Step 2: Use PR to send information to relevant magazines and mailers. You can also sponsor events for exposure on their branding and signage.

Step 3: Generate a QR code with an attribution link and place it everywhere—from books to business cards to conference booths. 

Old-School Word of Mouth Still Wins 

Sometimes, the most impactful promotion comes from you. Talk about your podcast whenever you can—from your next dinner party to the inevitable wait at the checkout line. If you’re truly passionate about your project, that enthusiasm will win you listeners. Here are other ways to get the word out:

Step 1: Email your network when the show launches—and make it easy for them to share. 

Step 2: Encourage your guests to spread the word when they’ve appeared on the show. You can even make them some assets to share on their socials.

Step 3: Add a calendar reminder for your colleagues or community to tune into the first episode. This works best in small doses. 

Audit, Optimize, Repeat 

So, what is the first step? Here’s a challenge for you: Audit your owned channels. 

By identifying where your podcast could find an audience and revenue, you can then actually make those updates. There’s a time for talk, and there’s a time for action.

Whether it’s adding a podcast tab to your site, embedding an audiogram on Instagram, or including a QR code in your newsletter, the small stuff adds up. 

And the best part? You already own it.